From Michelle Obama to P.Diddy, have they kept up their interest or has the
cause been forgotten?

A still from a video released by Boko Haram in April claiming to show the missing Nigerian schoolgirlsPhoto: Boko Haram/AFP

By Jocelyn Spottiswoode

7:30AM BST 14 Jul 2014

Today is the three month anniversary of Boko Haram’s kidnapping of over 200 girls in Nigeria. No longer trending on Twitter, replaced with World Cup mania, #BringBackOurGirls has died down. The rise and fall of similar Twitter campaigns, and their effectiveness, has always sparked heated debate between their staunch defenders and persistent critics.

#BringBackOurGirls, often credited to Michelle Obama but actually coined by a female Nigerian lawyer in Nigeria, only truly took flight when the First Lady stamped it with her seal of approval.

So what did all the chatter actually do, and what have all those people who posted photos done since then?

Ellen Degeneres was quick to jump on the bandwagon. Her original tweet, captioned ‘It can’t happen soon enough’, was retweeted 25,500 times.

P. Diddy posted 13 pictures on Instagram, the most widely circulated captioned "There's nothing I wouldn't do to protect my own daughters. I stand with the parents of the abducted Nigerian schoolgirls".

Since ‘pledging their support’ not one of these celebrities has tweeted about the situation again. P. Diddy’s Instagram has mainly featured pictures of his new Cîroc brand of vodka.

De Kock, 22, heard about the kidnapping through a community service charity she is an ambassador for and was horrified to read more about Boko Haram’s views on education for women. "It was the first time I had heard about Boko Haram and their aims,” she said. “I think particularly as a woman I had a duty to do something and protest against that." Through the youth wing of the charity, she and other volunteers rallied schools and colleges in their area to either arrange protests with Bring Back Our Girls signs, or Tweet their support.

De Kock believes the social media campaign was helpful to the cause and that the reaction to the Nigerian kidnappings has made those aware more philanthropic. "It made people start their own campaigns, do more charity work," she said. "We may not be bringing the girls back but it inspired people to be more aware and think about what they can do in the world."

US Congresswoman Frederica Wilson has been a persistent advocate for the girls. She first used the hashtag on May 7, and since then has posted/published hundreds of tweets in an effort to trigger/spark/whip up a “twitter storm”.

Mrs. Wilson travelled to Nigeria last month to meet with government officials and families of the missing girls and has recently introduced a bill which would authorise US dollars for humanitarian aid to Nigeria and funds to support Boko Haram’s victims.

Social entrepreneur Erica Greve has similarly maintained a high level of interest, travelling to Nigeria on multiple occasions. She was one of the first to speak to the three girls who escaped the camp in May. In an effort to maintain the public awareness she has been working with Hollywood talent agencies in an effort to keep celebrities posting on the issue

"It has been a disappointment to see the social media attention wane but the impact that all the tweets had was really instrumental in applying a lot of attention on the ground. It really did make such a marked difference," she said.

Closer to home, the Gloucester Citizen started a campaign to post pictures on their website. The Dean of Gloucester, one of the participants, believes that social media has “certainly raised awareness”. The cathedral noted a marked increase in the number of prayers left for the girls, however the community has not apparently done much else.

Others have been more critical.

One senior Western diplomat remarked that some might think it was enough to Tweet their support rather than providing tangible help. "It struck me as embarrassing and trite," he said.

The campaign’s original aim had been to put pressure on the Nigerian government to act. Amnesty International’s spokesperson, Eulette Ewart, said “While the Bring Back our Girls social campaign sharpened global attention on the crisis in north-eastern Nigeria, it has only achieved partial success.” People may have been taking photos and re-tweeting all over the world “But the women and girls are still missing.”

In an age where consumers can order groceries, shoes, clothes, holidays, and many other things online, some fear there is a risk of ‘clicktivism’, where all life’s cures and solutions can be obtained by a quick google and a click of the mouse. They wonder if there might have been more protests and rallies if the internet was not there to do it for them.

True, even without Twitter, such issues move fluidly in and out of public eye. But now, unless it’s ‘trending’, the majority of people seem to bypass it.

What happened to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign? Did the Boko Haram troop eventually release the girls?